High-pressure homogenizer valve design modifications allowing intensified drop breakup without increasing power consumption. I. Optimization of current design-principle

Abstract

This study uses a model-based design approach (CFD coupled to well-established emulsification correlations) to investigate how to choose the valve dimensions of a high-pressure homogenizer so as to achieve intensified drop breakup without increasing the power consumption. Results show how design modifications influence the thermodynamic efficiency of the homogenizer via two effects, a friction factor and a factor related to how high a dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy that the design delivers in the centre of the jet. By simple design modifications, thermodynamic efficiency can be increased by 4 % (compared to a representative contemporary valve design) by decreasing the inlet chamber angle, and an additional 5 % by carefully adjusting the outlet chamber angles so as to ensure that the jet exits the gap free of the wall, but then bends and re-attaches to the wall further downstream. The modifications are predicted to allow for achieving the same resulting drop size but with a 17 % lower power draw, compared to a standard contemporary valve, or alternatively a smaller resulting drop diameter at constant power draw.